Syrian rebels seize army stronghold near Jordanian border

Syrian rebels seized a government stronghold and a key town near the border with Jordan, ousting Syrian soldiers and allied militiamen from the region after four days of intense battles, opposition activists and rebels said on Wednesday.

There was no immediate comment from the government on the reported fall of Busra Sham, a town in southern Syria known for its historical citadel and Roman amphitheatre declared by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.

For the rebels, the town’s capture is a strategic gain both because of its geographical location and symbolism. Busra Sham had remained firmly in the hands of President Bashar Assad’s troops throughout the four-year-old conflict and was considered to be a stronghold of pro-government forces in the southern province of Daraa. It is a predominantly Sunni town with a population of some 30,000 but also has a sizable Shia community.

The town, perched on a hill overlooking the strategic region between the southern outskirts of Damascus and Jordan, also known as the Houran plain, is some 10 kilometres to the Jordanian border.

“Today is a happy day, Busra al-Sham has been completely liberated,” said Ahmad Masalma, an opposition activist in Daraa. He said some 10,000 rebels from various groups took part in the attack on the town, which began Saturday from three sides and ended at dawn Wednesday. They included members of al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria, the Nusra Front group.

Mr. Masalma said however, that the Busra al-Sham hotel the biggest and best known hotel in the region and the nearby historic souks were destroyed in the fighting.

The town’s capture was also reported by the Local Coordination Committees and the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Rebel groups fighting to topple Mr. Assad have been on the offensive in the Daraa province for weeks.